A recent rule proposal from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) walks the line between preserving bank profits and strengthening consumer protection.

The CFPB was established by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. The fledgling bureau’s central mission is:

“[T]o make markets for consumer financial products and services work for Americans – whether they are applying for a mortgage, choosing among credit cards, or using any number of other consumer financial products.”

On its official website, the CFPB lists its seven core functions:

1. To conduct rule-making, supervision, and enforcement for federal consumer financial protection laws.

2. To restrict unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices.

3. To take consumer complaints.

4. To promote financial education.

5. To research consumer behavior.

6. To monitor financial markets for new risks to consumers.

7. To enforce laws that outlaw discrimination and other unfair treatment in consumer finance.

After one of its first confrontations with the banking industry, the CFPB has backed away from its earlier pro-consumer position limiting pre-activation and annual fees that banks could charge borrowers to open new credit card accounts.